Save The World? Maybe Change It? Without A Doubt
by AGrimmMelodyx3
Summary: They're on a mission. There is a basic rule: Don't Die. But this isn't the Flock you thought you knew. They're different. Click the button, turn the metaphorical page. Some say it's impossible to change the world. They're going to prove. You. Wrong.
1. Chapter 1

**PROLOGUE **

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Six children. One dog.

Max.

Fang.

Iggy.

Nudge.

Gazzy.

Angel.

Total.

God only knows how many problems.

Save the world.

Try not to die.

Run for your lives.

Grow up in a cage.

Stay focused and on task- there's only room for so many mistakes.

Fight your enemies- even though you may not know who they are yet.

But that's just for beginners. Now is the time to take a stand. Against insurmountable foes, and innumerable obstacles. Against seemingly unbeatable forces, and carnage of heart, mind, body, and soul.

Blood, sweat, tears, twisted variations of all three.

The storm before the calm.

Against all odds, these six children and their dog, will fight.

Six children and a dog, who call themselves The Flock.

Six children and a dog who will defend the innocent, and the non-innocent, because _no one_ deserves to be subjected to the kind of torture they've had lived with.

Six children and a dog, who knew that they very well could, and most likely would, die because of the cause they were fighting for.

Six children, and one dog, who _will _**change the world**.


	2. Kill The Enemy

**Thanks for all the lovely reviews, keep 'em coming. I'm not really sure how long these chapters are going to be, probably fairly short. Sorry if you don't like that, but give it a shot anyway! Tell me what you thought!**

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Save The World? Maybe. Change it? Without A Doubt. 

Chapter 1: Kill The Enemy

The scene was chaos at its finest. A glass vial shattered, green liquid pouring out. Smoke drifted up from the acidic substance. And that's when all hell broke loose. Sirens. Flashing red lights, and the smoke from the liquid was making her vision swim. So wavy everything seemed distorted.

"_Breach, sector V section 13. Breach! All staff report to Sector V section 13!_" A woman, loud and clear on an overhead speaker. And then there was the sound of pounding footsteps, dogs baying and barking in the distance. Faint, but getting louder each second, getting closer. A woman screaming, a man bellowing out orders so fast they were almost unintelligible. There was fumbling on the part of the younger children, then the door burst open. They were rushed, and there was blood everywhere.

Fists were flying, kicking, punching, people were groaning out loud. And Max could just picture the nuns, all in black and white, each identical to the next. They stood in rows upon rows, hundreds of thousands of them, and you can't tell a single one apart. Drums are pounding through her veins, and she can hear them, almost _see _them in her mind's eye, lifting their voices and their hands to the one they call God. Clear, strong sounds, pouring forth from them and combining together into one insane twisted melody. She could fell the dogs tearing at her, but the pain didn't register.

All she could hear, were the nuns, see the hollow eyes of ones long lost and lonely, all joined in the same compatible misery. She hit, bit, head butted, anything to get out, to survive. The enemy was closing in so fast. The nuns were louder, the drums stronger. She saw them joining hands, their voices intermingling to perform one perfect note. Single and yet divided into many, so loud it drowned out anything else. It was her blood, her soul, her mind, her body, perversions of all three. It drove her to be quicker, smarter, faster, stronger. It was pounded into her.

_Live. Survive. Kill the enemy. _

_Live. Survive. Kill the enemy._

_Live. Survive. __**Kill the enemy**_.

And that's when she screamed.

Her hair whipped around her in an invisible wind, and out of her scream you could almost hear words. The voices of many, combining into one. Screams of horror filled her senses, and she was overloaded.

She laughed.

Everything was fading away, she was giving up power to something much bigger than herself. She was terrified, but in a detached way. She was burning alive from the inside out, and she didn't know how. Her mouth wouldn't move from its scream, her throat rubbed raw from the intense noise. She thought she was going to die. She was being drowned, smothered, devoured, the sacrifice to the nuns, she could just see it now. And they would rejoice in the fact that someone died so they could live longer. And oh, as they rise to a crescendo, she rises with them. Her wings don't move, but her body does, her _mind _does.

Her feet aren't touching the ground.

Her eyes open, forcefully, and she's breathing again. Her eyes glow a fierce red, no pupils, there is nothing else in them. She is filled with a burning desire, one that courses through not her body but her soul. Her everlasting being is filled with this rabid power, and she does not like being caged.

Her sole purpose now: _Live. Survive. __**Kill the enemy**_. _Protect your own, keep them safe, take them away. __**Kill the enemy**__. _

Her body does not allow her to stop, she simply gives it her control, she will not fight. She lets the nuns and the higher forces do that for her now, an angel of the worst kind. She is but a vessel for power, what purpose she stands for, she does not know, but she will not obey it. She refuses. She rebels. For once in her life, Maximum Ride is disobeying the rules. She closes her blood colored eyes, and lets her fists fall free, while she smiles a feral smile. She savors the feeling of having actual control, over scientists who think they can play God, who gave her wings, a touch of freedom in a cage. She coils herself up, ready to strike. Her mind expands, and she doesn't know what it will do, but it could quite possibly kill them all.

_They hurt me. They hurt my flock. I am powerful now, _I _am _power_. They die. _

Then she heard it.

"Maximum. That is e_nough_. Stop."

She doesn't even consider listening.


	3. Screams in the White Hall

**Okay, chapter three here for all you lovely readers. You're amazing (: Again, hope the shortness doesn't bother you, and reviews are love!!! Any kind are welcomed. **

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Drugs. That was what was pumping through her, and keeping her sedated. Slowly, so slowly, she opened bleary eyes to the sterile white world she seemingly grew up in.

Or so _they _tell her.

She has nothing better to go by, no choice other than to believe them, even though she thinks it's rather odd to grow up with no memories of your family.

"Maximum." Despite the pain, she snaps her head around to the sound. Jeb.

"Dad!" She strains against her bonds, they hold her against the cold metal table and cut into her wings. For a minute the look in his eyes looks like he's crippled, a crushing sadness crashing over his tall frame. But in just a moment it's gone, and he's the stern but loving father figure she knows him as.

Or so _they _tell her.

"Max, what were you thinking? What happened to you? It was a simulation, a test. There were people from all over the country here to see you, and you do _that_. I'm very disappointed in you." Her eyes burn regretfully for a moment, before the look is replaced with a fierce determination, and he knows this won't happen again.

Not until she gets her _real _memory back, anyway. But that will never happen, not if he can help it. He had what he wanted, a prime specimen, ripe for the picking. And in a way, he had his daughter back, his little Max. And there was no way he was letting her go again without a fight. But that was besides the point anyway, and he quickly refocused on her again.

"Good." His approving nod made a grin stretch across her face.

"You must be more careful next time." She rolled her eyes.

"_Yes, Dad_." And he briefly wondered if his heart was breaking. Because the Max he'd come to know would rather break her own leg than say that. And oh, how he'd longed to hear it, too. He let her out of her bindings and she was down the hall in a flash.

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Her shoulder blade length hair streamed behind her as she sped down corridors and passed doorways. There was no sound. Nothing but placid white, and to her it was like she was running through a frozen world. Snow white and bright and amazing in its simplicity, she was entranced by it every time. Then the smell of antiseptic hits her nose, and she knows she's reached the place where the _real _bad things happen. The tests, and even though the walls are sound proofed, if she tries really hard, she can hear faint screams.

So small you're left to figure out if you've actually heard them. But oh, yes, you have. They're bloodcurdling, not something the imagination could make up on its own. She never stays here long. There're no windows, few visible doors, only walls. Empty white washed walls, and horrible screams that just tickle your eardrums. Why _would _she? She scurries away after her slight pause. She's off to find her flock, and she knows the halls so easily. For some reason that just does _not _sit right with her. But she brushes it off, and continues on. She's gulping and spinning, circles upon circles, and corridors, and she has no control. Like the crazy rides at amusement parks, she's on a rampage that only ends in carnage of herself. Maybe it's because she's for once lost in the bright halls.

Or maybe it's because she's lost, but on top of that all alone. But she stops, and she listens. Like her life depends on it, she crouches, and presses her ear against the wall. And this time, she hears. She hears the curses of her name, and her family's, and her friend's. And she's afraid for them. A glimmer of a memory surfaces, mostly a feeling, and a single tear slides down her face, as she sees in her minds eye a girl. With choppy hair, and bitingly cold brown eyes, and a dark clothed boy, a tall blonde one, a small African American girl, and small blonde boy and girl. One little black dog.

_Six children, and one dog._

The first girl was strapped to a table, and she was spitting insults and curses, and scratching at everything she could with her horrendously short nails. She bites those who come close enough. Until she screams, louder than anything. Louder than those in the White Hall. And then it's over. And she's still alone, with a single thought rebounding again and again in her head, louder with each passing turn of it's orbit. It is deafening finally, and she can no longer ignore it. It pulses in time with her heart, and she can't figure out where on earth it came from. It scares her more than she'd ever tell;

_A city, great and bright and beautiful, looming above with an aristocratic elegance, and it was empty. Beside and inside its magnificent façade, echoed like a shadow, was fear. And you could see it in the stillness, and you could hear it in the silence, and you could _feel_ it, in the stark emptiness of a marvelous seashell. Empty, so empty, but pretty on the outside. It was more like a glass city. So sparkly, and it caught dreams like light and reflected them right back at you in bright rainbow colors, so they almost seemed like they were yours to keep. But a glass city is dangerous, a tremulous promise, that has almost every intention of breaking. As soon as you look at it, it can shatter on impact, the force of your gaze too much for its fragile demeanor. Or, It can hold out just a little bit longer so you know its coming and have to wait, and I can't figure out which one is worse. To fall without knowing, or knowing you're going to fall. _


	4. White and Red

Max is supposed to be a bit OOC, so if you notice that, there ya go. Explanation. In fact, the whole flock is OOC, but _eventually, _you'll see why. Sorry it's taking so long. Umm, review please(if your gonna read, please just review or PM me. It doesn't even matter if it's one word). I hope you enjoy, and uh, yeah. I hope I haven't left anything out, and if I have, then...oh well. Happy reading! Thank you sososososooooo much to my two(really guys? not that i don't love what i've got, but really.)lovely constant reviewers!!!! Love you guys, Kitty Bridgeta(who was my first reviewer. Go You!!) and emotionalpoemgirl(who's reviews i also love!)! x33

One Year Later 

A girl with choppy brown hair, and eyes like chocolate regarded her surroundings soundly before deciding to move. Her face was set in stone, hard and grim.

Beside her, was a boy with dark hair. His eyes told all, but they moved so quickly you could never really get a lock on them. They crouched low to the ground.

Behind them, with a hand on each of their shoulders was a boy, blonde and extremely tall. His stance was the one of a dancer, lean and flexing. Bending to his will, twisting and contorting, amazing in its dexterity.

On his left was a small girl, blonde and petite. She looked angelic, completely at peace, but you could see that small spark of malice in her eyes.

On his right was a young boy, also blonde, same angelic features, but a wicked smile curved his lips upward into a grin that shouldn't be _near _the face of one so young.

An African American girl stood still behind them all. She was shorter, so you couldn't see her face, just a portion of her eyes, and the joy that gleamed in them. Had they been able to see all of her face, they would have seen the blinding smile that covered it.

A small black dog was in front of the first boy and girl.

Max.

Fang.

Iggy.

Nudge.

Angel.

Gazzy.

Total.

Max knew how they looked, and she could just _feel _the fear starting to roll off of her enemies. She stood, slowly, and regarded them. All in the span of but a few seconds, she analyzed them. Their height, weight, average strength unless under extreme duress. She knew them inside and out. Large lupine-like mutates. Claws, fur, strong. Built like a football player with the mind of one, too. With a flick of her wrist, she motioned Fang up next to her. The room they were in was not white, it was black.

It should have been dark, foreboding, even. But there were so many lights on it was like daytime with all the windows open. A casual glance to her right let her know that everyone else was still in place. Something whizzed by her head, and embedded itself in the wall. She looked backwards at the offending object, it had missed her by mere centimeters, and glared at it. She turned around, _slowly_, oh so slowly, and fixed her glare at the dogs. They stood their ground and snarled, drooling and howling and baying. Goading her, making her see red. She slowly advanced on them. The closer she got, the louder they became.

Her heart began to pound, even though she knew she needn't worry. One of them finally lunged at her. She threw it over her head, and let it smash into the wall.

Fang took it from there, and with a gentile scraping of his hands, the entire body was cut into many tiny pieces. He almost grinned at his success. Almost. His white shirt whipped around him and he shrugged it off. He knows it was only a bother anyway. One of them ran right past Max, and towards Angel. Max didn't try to stop it, she just turned around to watch the show, not even slightly worried about having the enemy behind her. Angel grinned. Her little blue eyes lit up, and her smile was wide and authentic. She was enjoying this, it was her favorite pass time after all.

"Hello Mr. Wolf man. And goodbye." She said cheerfully, and that was the end of that. As soon as the words left her mouth, the wolf like creature stopped in its tracks, and pulled something out of its pocket. No one knew what it was until it glinted dully in the light. As he stabbed himself in the chest, no one breathed. The stunned silence was broken by Angel giggling softly when some of his pooled blood seeped onto her white shoes. Her white dress fluttered as she twirled in small circles, running up to the blood to splash in it as if it were a rain puddle.

Yet another lunged past Max, making her hair blow in the small breeze that created. It went for Iggy. He let it run, until it was mere centimeters from him. As it left the ground and lunged, Iggy bent backwards, leaning so far his hair brushed the ground. His face twisted into a smirk as he thrust his hands up and clean through his opponent's stomach and back. When he pulled his hands out, there was an organ in them. The things heart. With a smile he threw it to the floor and stomped on it, letting the blood smatter on his white pants. He wiped his hands on his white shirt, and licked his fingertips clean. With a satisfied smile, he sighed while he waited for all of this to be done. He may be blind, but he was strong as well.

Following the same pattern, really this was too easy for them, one more lunged at the group. It targeted Gazzy this time. He walked forward calmly, seemingly ignoring the monster careening towards him. Once it was within range, he leapt at it himself and slammed his hands over its ears. As it howled and they bled, he took his knee to the other's chest. The thing wheezed. He grinned maniacally as he took the scruff at the beast's neck and yanked. Hard enough to pull skin, bone, and anything else away. The thing lay dead, and his face held nothing but a self satisfied smirk as he used his white shoe to stomp the dead things eyes out. He picked one up and crushed it in a fist idly as we waltzed back to where his friends were.

Total didn't have to do anything at all, just sit and enjoy, but there were many things he could have done. Many more things than you would think. Yet again, one lunged, headed straight for Nudge. She looked at it carefully, with more than a hint of disdain. Before the thing could get even a few feet, and with a wrinkle of her nose, she opened her mouth and screamed. The rest of the flock barely paid attention, they were so used to it. Their enemies, however, were not. As her scream echoed, the supersonic tendencies to it caused blood to flow from the creature's mouth, eyes, ears, nose, everywhere. And then it collapsed, to put it simply. Dead, and the only thing it got from Nudge was a crooked grin.

And now there was one enemy and Max. She turned and regarded his form coolly. It grinned at her wolfishly and she grinned right back. It circled her, and without it knowing, everywhere it stepped, a small flame licked up. Until there was a ring, and Max was surrounded by it. She willed the flames higher, and so they were. The wolf screamed in alarm, but still tried to leap through the flames to reach the offending girl. He inwardly seethed, father would be so displeased. He finally made it through the flames, chinks of fur and skin missing. He was a dripping, sizzling, snarling, massive, mess. Max only took a moment to really see him before she leaped high, flipping and twisting to gracefully arc over the flames, landing on her feet in a rather catlike crouch.

That would make sense, since they _did _give her a small percentage of cat DNA. The irony was not lost on her at all. Once again, the thing howled in rage. She enjoyed provoking him. She willed the ring of flames smaller, tighter, more constricting. And so they were. She liked that she could see in his eyes that he knew he was going to die. He slashed at the fire. His claws dripped off of him like water. The more he hit at them, the hotter they got. Finally they were blue, then white. With a casual flick of her head, no more than a miniscule nod, a barely there movement, the flames descended upon him. Max spread her wings, and flew up to the ceiling of the exceedingly large room. She let herself drop like a stone, and her feet impaled the poor creature while her grim face transformed into a blinding smile. The splattered blood was unrecognizable in the bright bloody red of her clothes. And that was that. The flames dissipated, and she knew she'd have a few last thoughts before they came for her again.

She was Maximum Ride. Daughter of Jeb and Valencia, and she loved her mother and hated her father, or more specifically, the man who dared call himself that. She knew that. She was supposed to save the world. She was supposed to protect people. She _knew_ she was. But her flock came first, indefinitely. And so it was no matter that she knew where she was, or what she was doing, or _who _she was. If this was the place that her flock could stay safe, then that was where they would be. They could be treated when sick here, have good big meals, a roof over their heads, a family, no matter how deranged. They were safe.

The world could die.

Her father could die.

She hoped her sister and her mother stayed safe.

She hoped her flock could forgive her.

She hoped for a lot of things, all the things she knew probably wouldn't happen. Her smile glided over everything, and with some parting words, the door burst open to a smiling Jeb. Max resisted the urge to roll her eyes, and looked down to the creature below her, her feet still implanted in him. His breathing was ragged, and his fur as matted, he was missing an eye. She smirked while grabbing a handful of his blood, while she smeared it on her face under her eyes, like warrior paint. Her thoughts brought a smile to her face.

_They say white is the color of innocence. So it makes sense that I'm the dazzling girl in red. _

The light faded from his eyes just as she finished speaking. Her words sounded scarily like the younger girl's, but then, who did they think she got them from?

"Hello, Ari. And goodbye."


	5. Shadow People

Yeah, so next chapter to all you lovely people. I think this is now going to be a series of connected oneshots, it's just easier. What do you gusy think…? Review and enjoy.

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She cart wheeled, and flipped, she felt like she defied gravity.

Max felt invincible.

_Max_ was dreaming.

"Fly?" Was what broke her out of it. She scowled before she realized it was just Fang asking her if she wanted to fly with him somewhere inside the building, it was _huge_, and she was scowling still as she shooed him out of her room to get dressed. She never told him no. A quick glance in the mirror told her one thing.

That she didn't know who she was anymore.

* * *

They sat in silence, dark together in the light that lit up the room. Shadows, because of how they dressed, and maybe because of how they acted, and just maybe because of how they felt inside.

But they didn't really know.

He bumped her shoulder. She raised her eyebrow at him(Fang was more of a _no _physical contact person, and even without his real memories, that hadn't changed), and then marveled at how much she'd changed. Her hair was the same color, her nails shredded. She had the same half smile, she hatde her biological father as much as ever, and still loved her flock more than her own life. And yet, she was…changed. She knew where she was, and she knew she shouldn't be there.

"--ike to go." She blinked hard to return to the conversation. She looked at his eyes, slanted inwards, squinting. Fang was…nervous?

"I'm sorry, what?" Fang sighed in annoyance, and she huffed back at him.

"I asked you if you'd like to go to the aviary with me. Now." She wanted to look at him like he was crazy, she _really _did, but she couldn't bring herself to. Because that'd make him go away, and as much as her heart was saying she could take it, just _run_- he'll hurt you, she knew she couldn't. Not Fang, never Fang. He always stayed. He couldn't leave, not yet. Maybe later, but not yet. Not just so soon. Anytime, but not just then. So she hid her face, and her betraying eyes, and stood to jump down from her perch in the high metal beams of their current home.

Prison.

She didn't really know about that one either.

And she didn't really get that far. Because as soon as she was on the floor, it was like chaos all over again. Dogs, horrible mutated people _things_, came crashing in through windows, doors, anywhere the eye could see. And Fang was suddenly nowhere to be seen. She could hear him, though. He was _laughing_. And all at once, her heart broke in her chest, and splintered, and those pieces splintered, and so on. And she couldn't do much more than tell her heart _I told you so_, before she had to run.

And run she did.

Through hallways and corridors, around and around, and he's _chasing _her. She can see his shadow, his silhouette, sometimes his profile, hear his voice. He's laughing, always laughing. She's in one door and out another, and she just can't get away. It felt like she was going in never ending circles.

She could scream, but no one would hear her.

And she could always cry, but then…who would care? So she ran on and on, until she was ready to drop, but she kept going. And she could hear his laughter, it was so _loud_, sardonic and high pitched. And then there were times where he would _almost _get a hold on her, speed around a corner, and make a wild lunge. She could never get away. No matter what she did, or how she tried, she just couldn't get away…

Then he got her. And it didn't really matter how she struggled, he had her, and he wasn't letting go. He was muttering _I love you_'s, his face heartbreakingly sad. Saying he sees her, _needs _her, and he's squeezing her so tight that she can't breathe. She doesn't even try to struggle. His face is buried in her hair and he's breathing her in, bubble gum and sunshine and secrets. It's heady and he's breathing so heavily, he'll pass out soon, she knows. His hands move to stroke her hair, her face, her wings, anything within in his reach, and he's still constricting with his arms.

Tight as boa snakes, they keep her trapped in a warm velvet prison she never wants to leave. The idea of final peace lures her in, and she almost smiles.

_Almost_.

His mouth comes to her eyes, they're closed now. They kiss and taste, and then move to her hands, limp on his chest. They're on her cheeks, her nose, her forehead, all the while he's mumbling, half deranged promises of forever and his eyes have a crazed sheen, and she's glad she's going to die soon, because she doesn't want to see Fang if this is what he is now. All this was so fast, only minute at best. His lips finally land where she wanted them, on her own. And as her eyes flutter and her world dims completely, she feels so nice. Amazing. Her mind, that was what was working, her body had shut down, and gone limp. But in her mind, she cart wheeled, and flipped, she felt like she defied gravity.

Max felt invincible.

And she trembled as her eyes opened to the question, "Fly?" And she didn't say no to him, because she never did. Her dream was so vivid she could feel her lungs ache as she tried to regain her steady breathing.

Yet.

She got up, and got dressed, and donned her mask, the same one she always wore these days. And a quick glance in the mirror told her one thing.

That she didn't know who she was anymore.


	6. Forehead Lips Heart

**I. AM. BACK.**

**I had a _major _Hunger Games moment in this chapter, if you've read those books, you know what I'm talking about.**

**Sorry for the shortness.**

**Review and enjoy!**

**My EXTRA SPECIAL SUPER SPARKLY THANKS TO……………………..*drum roll* emotionalpoemgirl, for telling my reviewers that I was gonna be gone for a while! Thanks a million, you rock!**

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She held her fingers perfectly over the trigger of the gun.

The weapon she'd vowed never to use unless it was to save her own life.

It was to end someone else's instead.

"Alright Max. Shoot." At the end of the tunnel was a little girl. 9 or 10 at best. Atop her head were some pointed ears, orange and black stripes racing up her arms. Her eyes were a fierce amber and her nails were claws. Her canine teeth resembled fangs. The name she gave herself was Bryanna. But the scientists just called her Experiment 53B. Max's mouth twitched. This young girl just made her want to smile. Too bad she was slated for termination. Her expression wasn't one of submission, it was one of defiance.

"Max. _Now_." She looked at the tiger-girl. Her finger twitched on the trigger. And as the girl raised two clawed fingers, memories came crashing down on Max.

One year and some months earlier, the Flock was on the run. They were captured, tested, tortured, and brought to the brink of death. Still, they resisted.

So the scientists decided to take their real memories, and remake them into the obedient subjects they were created to be. And as they struggled, every member of the Flock knew it wouldn't help. They had a sign. Every experiment in the School used this, to show love, respect, admiration, a final goodbye. A raised two fingers, to the forehead, lips, and heart. Fang was the first, max the last. And even as her family stared blankly at her hand gestures, she vowed she'd get them back. Max's memories were given back. For no other reason than that there were far too many sadistic people in the world.

Now, Bryanna used that same gesture.

Two fingers.

To the forehead.

The lips.

The heart.

Her eyes didn't plead, they _dared_. It was then that max knew she would not kill that girl. She willed the girl to understand with her eyes.

_Run, Bryanna. Fast._

Max concentrated, ignoring the screeching of the scientists. Small flames reached the sprinklers and light fixtures. The room was doused in darkness and water, and max had never before felt so much like she was drowning. In what, she didn't even know. She could just make out the shape of a small person darting out the door. Before she ran herself, a small smile made its way onto her face.

She knew who she was now.

And she knew what she had to do.

She ran like never before, and down every hallway she traversed, water and darkness hit like a hammer. Sirens again. More voices. Screams. It was like music to max's ears. She smirked.

"I aim to misbehave."

One by one, she reached the Flock's rooms. She grabbed them all and ignored their questions. Maybe it was luck, maybe it was fate, and maybe they had a little extra help from a certain tiger, but they met no one along the way.

Through the White Hall.

The curses of her name had turned to incredulous whispers.

"Max is back." Over and over again, from every mouth. Repeated in wonder and awe. Accompanied by hope. As they reached a door, once forbidden, technically still now, Max turned.

As it rained inside, it rained out. The door was open. Max said one thing to all the eyes staring back at her. A flash of lightening for one moment, illuminated from behind her and her Flock.

"I will come back for you, I promise."

A gesture of her hands was made. And in the almost dark, you could just make out the forms of things, feline, lupine, cat dog and bird alike, return it. Eyes glinting(in what could have been anything, but seemed like- amazement), two fingers raised, a gentile touch.

To the forehead.

The lips.

And the heart.


	7. And She Smiled

**Finished Fang. Cried like crazy. Enough said. **

_Where do we go from here?_

Max let herself ponder the question as the others thought of their own. She more resembled Fang that day, than anyone else, in the respect that she didn't talk.

Not at all.

Angel was barred from her mind.

She wouldn't let Iggy touch her.

She wouldn't talk to Nudge, look at Gazzy.

Wouldn't listen to Total.

Wouldn't do anything that even _remotely _had to do with Fang.

She felt like her life was in a freeze frame. She was the only one who could move, like pieces on a chess board. Did that make her queen? Who was her king?

Max's head hurt.

Absently, she pondered the Idea.

_That _was all about Fang.

His hands, his eyes, his mouth.

Rough fingers that make flower petals out of boulders and weapons out of the softest mist, not that they ever would. Eyes that held the world trapped behind dark one way glass. One could see out, never in.

A mouth that could grimace, grin, echo, and create.

That was the main idea of the Idea.

She sighed.

She wondered.

She wandered.

She acted distinctly un-Maklike.

Max thought back on her life, years and years of time, had been gone- taken from her. With a blink, a flick of fingers, a fleeting laugh, a sinking feeling, a deep depression, an awakening. And then it was back, and she couldn't believe who she'd become. Who she'd _let _herself become. She called out over the cliff's edge, into the mist.

"Hello?" Her voice dropped into the dark abyss beneath where the Flock rested, until it hit the city, plopping onto a small girl's head(no matter what, Max was their leader. Brainwashed or not, they knew to listen to her. If she had them resting in a cave off a cliff, then so be it).

"Hello," She whispered back. Then she ran, back home, to the parents who wanted her dead, and tried to make that happen, each and every day. But still, she ran home, because she was young, and still had much faith in her tormentors. She would learn in time.

The Flock looked at Max like she was insane.

They also knew better than to ask questions.

"Hello? Can anybody hear me?" The first real words Max had _really_ said in quite a while, were spoken into empty air.

Breathing heavy, flopping back down, it's back to Silent Max.

Fang had enough.

"Max."

Nothing.

"Max."

A twitch.

"Max."

A growl.

"_Max_."

"_What!_" So much venom dripped from those words, most of the Flock scrambled didn't blink.

"Talk." Max _did _blink.

"What?" Fang could've laughed at the expression on Max's face.

"Talk, speak, communicate-"

"Fang."

"-Use words-"

"Fang."

"-Phrases-"

"Fang."

"-Sentences-"

"_Fang_."

"_What!_" Max raised an eyebrow. She had the sudden urge to smile. Just…smile.

It was impossible to ignore, and she certainly didn't want to anyway.

"Iggy, come here," Max said slowly. He walked over cautiously, treading lightly on now sturdy ground. She grabbed his hand and brought it to her face so that he could feel her smile. That was all he needed. The tense, guarded silence was no more. Angel and Nudge burst into loud chatter.

Max smiled.

Iggy stole Gazzy, off to planning.

Max smiled.

She turned to Fang.

"Thank you," she said quietly. He nodded.

Max smiled.

Later that night, Max took a seashell from her pocket. It glinted in the light, and seemed to have a pulse, a _life_, of it's own.

The edges were stained a permanently bright red.

And Max smiled.


	8. Decidedly Bipolar

_**Sorry I've been gone for a while, had no inspiration for this fic. But it's 6:15a.m.(before all the editing and leaving it alone all day so that I don't break my computer into a thousand very small pieces because fanfiction is being MORONIC) and it just came to me, so I said "Eh, what the hell," and put it up. **_Um, this A/N might come up slightly different, and a second time, so if it's here twice and really long, and repeatish, don't worry about it.(And that would be because fanfiction deleted all my original changes on the site, so I had to redo them, but they might come back up, because it gave me the same word count as before...whatever. It's just being stupid and annoying. I'm angry. If anything is wrong don't pay any attention. This chapter might get messed up. There could be doubles of phrases scattered around, who knows, with this website -_-)_** Same thing for some parts of the fic. I saw Eclipse! Who else of you Max fans are Twilighters too, like me?(Who's Team Jake, Team Edward, or Team Switzerland?) I loved it, saw it twice(The midnight premier, and another time with my friends). It was the best of the three by far, to me.(Here's a secret, I was listening to nothing when I wrote the beginning, and when it got all happy-ish, I was listening to **_**Wedding Plans _by _Howard Shore, from the end of the movie _haha! :D) What did you guys think? Leave a review, it's the only way for me to improve!(Did this chapter seem to Twilightish to you? It did to me, for Max and Fang at least "/) Another thing, I'm not really sure where I'm taking this. If anyone has any ideas, feel free to PM me with them! Max is really bipolar here, and Angel is...odd. For a little kid, anyway. You'll see it when you read. Maybe Max is bipolar because I don't know how I'm feeling right now. Characters reflecting on your personality and all that. Also, my writing style has changed, you'll notice it, I think. It's not as...vague? I'm not sure, it's just different. It might change again, might go back, and might stay the same. I don't really like this chapter, but it's an update, at least, and it might jumpstart me back on this fic, who knows? Anyway, I'll stop rambling. I don't normally. Review, and sorry in advance for ANYTHING wrong. With the way Fanfiction's acting up, that'll probably be a lot. Anyway, read on!_**

* * *

Max's eyes glinted in the firelight, her mouth twisted into a half grimace half grin. Her world was spinning out of control, and she had no idea how to stop it. She was falling, her wings were failing, and she didn't know what to do anymore. She felt like cotton was plugging up her ears so she couldn't hear. Her eyes were stuck closed, so she felt blind, like Iggy. Her tongue felt heavy, as if she couldn't form the words, what she wanted to say, couldn't be heard. Her skin felt hot and flushed, as if she was coming down with a fever. She felt like she was falling apart at the seams. So she took up her shell, the edges stained a permanent red. Blood of hers, tinting the pure white. It almost seemed like a sin to her, to color the pearl like shell something so dark and morose. But then, she thought to herself, she'd already committed enough sins, what was one more? Bringing the shell up to her forearm, she took a deep, dizzying, steadying breath.

And she dropped the shell, her hands shaking and her breaths short and sporadic. For a moment, her rational side won, quizzing her, rapid fire.

_What are you doing?_

_You _can't _do this!_

_What would it do to the Flock, to Fang?_

…_What would it do to me…?_

The moon's light was dimming, being covered by clouds, and Max stood up and threw the shell over the edge of the canyon. She looked around quickly, not quickly enough, spread her wings, and jumped off the edge of the cave opening, soaring into the night. With the wind rushing underneath her, she suddenly felt invincible. For a fleeting second, a burning rushed through her, as though the weight of the world _wasn't _on her shoulders, as if she could do anything she set her mind to, like she was stumbling through a story in the dark, but she knew there would be a happy ending.

As if, as though, and like.

Well, she decided, there would be no more of that. She would make those words the truth. There would be a hand to pull her up when she fell, arms to catch her when her wings wouldn't work anymore, a smile there for her when her own lips wouldn't cooperate. She breathed in the clouds and the mist, as it flew around her in torrents, drenching her to the bone, but she could care less. Because suddenly, she knew she was losing her mind, but in the best possible way. She was finally on the right track. She'd made a lot of mistakes along the way, btu she _thought _she was finally headed in the right direction. Despite all she'd done, she'd done it to keep her family, her Flock, safe. And safe they were, even though they didn't really know that they were in danger in the first place. A tingle ran through her, as her smile widened, and more mist blocked her view. Even above the clouds, she dared to fly, spreading her hands up and outwards like an eager child, wondering if she'd actually be able to touch one of the stars she saw up in the dark sky. If she'd be able to feel the burning warmth spreading through her fingertips, up her arms, Through her body, and to her heart.

Unbidden, an image of Fang popped into her head, and the feelings he brought up when he kissed her.

Brushed up against her.

Grabbed her hand.

Fought by her side.

Like a slide show, they flashed through her head. He made her feel like she was…touching a star. Like she could burn from the inside out, like she could fly _without wings_. Like she could walk on water and just do _anything_. She felt strong, beautiful, graceful, incredible, special, whenever Fang was close. A simple touch of his hand made her feel as if he was flooding her senses, overwhelming her with sensation. It was pure, raw, unbridled _feeling_. There were no limits, and no boundaries. There were no questions, or decisions. That was just the way it was supposed to be.

Period.

There was no other way around it. It was inevitable and irrevocable. It was easy as breathing, steadying her wobbly emotions until they were sturdy and strong. Her breathing evened out and she stopped speed flying, simply coasting on the wind, trying to figure out where to go now, what to do.

She supposed they could always go to her mother's in Arizona. She nodded to herself, deciding.

Her path was pre-determined some said, sure, but that never meant she had to follow their guidelines, and there was no way she would. It was impossible for her, not in her nature. She had a mission to accomplish, a world to save. There were things that needed to be done, and she needed to be the one to do them. Her journey was far from over, and she couldn't give up now. Max silently glided back to the edge of the cave, landing swiftly and soundlessly. Making sure everyone was still asleep, as she hadn't gone far anyway, she sat down hanging her feet over the edge of the mouth. The ledge. And she didn't plan on going over _any_ time soon without her wings to catch herself.

Across the cave, Angel opened one eye silently, a glint in it that showed she knew more, _far _more, than she was supposed to. And that she remembered things she shouldn't, but she told no one, as many small children do. All the same, she smiled to herself, looking at Max and thinking that her leader was coming along well. Very well. She was strong. She would lead them through this. They would make it. And as Angel heard Max's thought about not going over the edge without her wings, she grinned to herself and thought,

_Good for you, Max, Good for you_.

With that thought, she promptly turned over and fell back asleep.


	9. Darker By The Day and Dancing On Bodies

Never before in Max's life had she felt such ridiculous, disturbed joy. Holding some poor thing by its throat, it struggled fruitlessly. Her lips were twisted into a merciless smirk, and her nails dug into its neck. She'd stopped biting them recently, and had finally found a use for them. She was glad, on many levels, that the rest of the Flock was still in the cave and she was far away from them for the time being. She would return shortly, but she couldn't tear herself away from this. The squirming piece of flesh she held above the ground had been sent to kill her. To kill _her_. She wondered, really, what the School was thinking. She reached her other hand up, to twist one of its flailing arms behind its back. She twisted it so far that flesh ripped, and blood dripped form the crevice where arm met shoulder and the thing squawked in pain and indignation. Max narrowed her eyes.

"If you can still sound indignant, then I haven't done my job well enough, have I? You were sent here to kill me, so it's only fair that since you failed, I try to return the favor." The small thing went pitifully still and dared not even to breathe. Max watched with a wicked curiosity the blood that dripped down to the murky forest floor. It was glittering an appealing ruby red and looked wet and warm. She lifted a finger to it, and brought that finger to her face, examining the red staining her fingertips closely. A deep sadness seemed to well within her then, for all she had become, and she lapped the blood of another from her own finger.

And with that first bit of blood, she howled out loud, letting it ring all the way to the tree tops way up high. Thinking that perhaps, it even reached the stars and the moon, tinting them red like her soul. She spread her wings out wide, an exultant smile lighting up her lips as she silently mourned for her twisted existence. In the back of her mind, she knew, she felt, that a terrible, horrible change was coming over her and there was not a thing she could do about it. But just then, for that one moment in time, she would be content to dance in blood.

With wide eyes, the creature looked upon the girl everyone used to call savior and it shook in pure fear and rage and grief, because if that was what a savior was, then world was utterly and completely doomed.

It knew it was going to die there, in that very spot and most likely, the shell of a girl in front of it would dance on its carcass. The thing found it terribly ironic that all the scientists prided themselves on creating Maximum _without _her losing her mind, when clearly this girl was going insane. Many voices bounced back and forth in Max's head. Soft ones, loud ones, and they all said something different. Some said to destroy the world, others said to save it. There was her mother, speaking of love, and Jeb, speaking of lessons and trust. There was Fang, talking of life, and Angel speaking of light. Iggy talking about responsibility. Gazzy talking about dangerous fun. Nudge talking a mile a minute about things no one understood. With a bright white flash of light between each one, they appeared before her in her mind's eye, a split picture. One was happy, the other judging and quiet.

"Oh, Max, you're my daughter, of course I love you. Unconditionally!" A warm hug was usually the follow up for these words, making Max tingle from the inside out because she just loved her mother that much. And then the counterpart to that sweet memory picture, her mother frowning and silent, her eyes seeming to scream that some things could not, _never_, be forgiven and then she vanished. Another bright flash, and she was facing Jeb.

"Maximum, you have a job, a responsibility, and I know you can do it." He smiled reassuringly while she glared because she'd been captured once again but she knew she would escape soon.

"You have failed. Even you, could not save _or _destroy the world. It is stuck in an eternity of grief and madness because you have stopped all change. Nothing will advance or regress. You have doomed us all." A gasp.

"We are who we are, Max. What we've had to do, we've had to do because that's how life goes. There are some things that you can't change, no matter how much you want to. Especially not alone." His eyes drew her in, and she sighed hearing him talk, wondering how he could be so forgiving and sage-like, when he was so merciless in battle.

"You can't change the world by yourself. You left us behind and we're _dying_. The world is dying, and it's all your fault!" A breath out.

"Max, you're like, my mom. You're the only and best mother I've ever had, and I know that you'd never give me away like my biological parents did. And that's because you love me. You should remember that. Love is important, it changes people, gives them hope and strength, and light, and love can also take all that away." She was encased in sunlight, the yellow bouncing off her hair in tiny rainbows and pieces of the sky trapped between her eyelashes. Her smile rivaled the sunlight bouncing off her hair and her voice was sugar sweet. Max ached to just swing her up and crush her into a hug.

"You were never fit to lead this Flock. You are not a good leader, you were supposed to be on your own, and leave the rest to me. You need to leave. If you stay, we will die. Fang will die. That, more than anything, because I _know_ you love him. Fang. Will. Die." Almost a tear.

"You are responsible for all of us, man I don't know how you do it! Don't let it go to your head, but if it were me, dude, I'd be _dead_. It's like having five extremely hyperactive kids…with superpowers. Sometimes, I think you break the laws of physics just to keep us all in line. Oh, wait. We do that already, wings and all." His grin was teasing, but in his unseeing eyes was a grim pride in her, and what she had to do, and what she had done. He was proud of her, and that made her happier than she ever thought it would.

"You failed. It was your job to protect us, you _promised_, and you _lied_. They're dying out there because _you couldn't keep your promise_." A strangled shout.

"Bombs are the most fun, I can't believe you're taking them away! C'mon, Max, pleeeease? They're dangerous, but so are we, and we're fun too! Besides, you don't see me running away from Angel, do you? And she could mind control me to jump a cliff!" He pouted slightly, his hair whipping in an imaginary breeze, and his eyes were wide open locked on hers. Her throat ached with suppressed tears, wanting so much to make him happy, but not willing to risk his life to do so.

"This isn't a game. This is _dangerous_. It's _not_ fun. You can't do this alone. You were the leader, the one who was supposed to guide us and give us direction. And instead…they died. People are dying, _everyone's_ dying. Do you realize what you've done?" A muffled moan of pain.

"Hey Max! Look at that ladybug, did you see her? I'm sure it was a her, because it was all red and glossy and pretty…Oh, Max have you seen this new jacket? It's the latest thing…" Simply bringing some joy into everyone's life, every day. Never making sense and never having to, her smile bright and lighting up everything in sight, making even the dead flowers lift up and smile. Or so Max could very, _very _easily imagine.

"Why…did you do that, Max? Weren't we your family? Didn't you love us? We trusted you, but…now we're all dying. We're growing and deforming, and reforming, and…we're _dying_ Max. We're _dying_!"

Max.

Max.

MAX.

Max.

Maximum.

Maximum Ride.

_You know I love you._

_Love changes people._

_Life is, the way it is._

_You break the laws of physics just to keep us all in line._

_C'mon, Max, pleeeease?_

_Look at that Ladybug, did you see her? _

_You have a job, a destiny…_

Destiny.

_Destiny._

**Destiny.**

_**Destiny!**_

"Destiny! Ah!" Everyone's voice played a part, and there was only one that remained quiet. Silenced. Overpowered. And that was her own. She had no say in her life, none at all, none left. It saddened her. And licking up just a bit more of that wonderfully disgusting red substance, her taste buds exploded and she felt the change within her grow stronger and faster. She yelled and laughed and whooped and hollered, and her face was the sole picture of happiness, but if one looked closely, they could see a tear drip down her face, because she was cracking and stumbling and falling apart, and there was no one to hold her up or put her back together. All that she is, was, and would be, was lost to her on that night.

Everything floated straight off her and went away into the sky, high enough where she couldn't reach it and landed among the stars, floating through the milky way, on top of Saturn's rings, revolving around the moon. She lost her essence, her soul, and she desperately needed someone to bring it back to her, but there was still no one. She was alone on this night, alone like she never had been before. Max took one more pull of the addictive, sweet, bitter, sour, _filling_ blood, and then she looked deep into the creature's eyes. She saw acceptance, and pity and remorse.

This thing, this small being, felt sorry for her, for the fate she had been given. That stirred something deep within her, but she fought it down again. She turned its head to the side gently, and then with brutal force, snapped it's neck. A strangled sob escaped her throat and her dry, smiling lips, thirsting for more of that sticky red blood that already covered her hands and her mouth. And that creature was right, completely and utterly right. It died there on that night in that spot, for a cause it did not know, if there was one at all, and that shell of a girl did nothing more than cry and laugh and scream and dance on its dead body.

* * *

I'm getting darker by the day.

_~Grimm_


	10. Memory

This update has been brought to you by the letter A and the word Author. A different fic inspired me to write this, but I completely forget the title and/or author(I am SOO sorry!), so yeah, thanks unnamed author!

Alright. Since I have no inspiration for this fic right now and I don't want to have you guys wait FOREVER, I'm leaving this poem, that could possibly tie into this fic, but I have no idea(I honestly don't know. It might have NOTHING AT ALL to do with this fic and I'm really sorry, but it's all I have at the moment, because my muses went on vacation -_-). I don't normally read stuff like this, so I'm being a bit of a hypocrite, but just give it a shot, alright? And if you do, pleasepleasePLEASE review!

SORRYSORRYSORRY for lack of an actual update, and any errors made on my part. Now.

_**IF YOU WANT TO TRY TO FIGURE IT OUT ON YOUR OWN, COME BACK TO THIS AFTER AND SEE IF YOU WERE RIGHT!**_

Okay, so basically, a few things to know:

1) This is from a first person POV obviously, if you read it already, and came back to see if you understood. Though I wouldn't be at all surprised if you didn't. It just seems really confusing to me.

2) The regular/bold font is present tense, and the italics are the past.

3) This is really just about a girl who was abused by her boyfriend, and winds up killing him(how lovely, right?) because of it.(I also think she's gone crazy, but not even _I_ know about some parts of this. I just write down what comes to me.) The regular/bold is her present tense, and the italics are her remembering their past.

4) Step by step, this is just basically her getting out of the shower, steamy mirror and all, and then her thinking back on everything and remembering it.(She was in the shower in the first place to wash away the blood from when she killed him) And then again at the end, just, like, coming out of her thoughts, and back to the present.

5) The title for now is Memory, but that could change. I always have trouble titling my work. :P

6) Umm…my poems tend to be a bit…long. *sheepish grin*

_**OKAY, EXPLANATION OVER!**_

If there are _any _questions, any at all, feel free to PM me or leave a review. Alright, get to it :D!

* * *

In the fogged up mirror,

I am just a blurry picture,

And I lift my hand to wipe it away.

The marks that are on me,

Are too deep for anyone to see,

And it's your eyes

_That are such a pretty color you know?_

_Your laughter was sweet then, _

_Warming me from the inside as you told me mine were prettier than_

Yours. That's what might as well be engraved into me, carved into my forehead.

Written on my soul,

As it burns and abuses my innocence,

Until there is no more of

_It was quick. That's all. There's no need for theatrics, is there?_

_I'm causing a scene with a sick twisted grin, _

_And my heart is pounding away from within, _

_With a quick slip_slide_, _

_I've become the shadow of the light,_

_There is nothing left to_

Hide. It was one the one thing I could never do.

There is no light in this room.

My hands are almost not my own,

And looking down,

I feel a moment of

_Vertigo? Afraid of heights? Don't be. _

_I've got you. Every night. _

_In my sight. _

_I almost sigh, because the hate is high, _

_And coming forth, _

_Pouring out in torrents, _

_That drench us _

Both. Double. A pair. We were perfect.

There's yelling and I can't help but to think it's mine, just now.

Glacier like, frozen and immobile,

Glossed over beauty.

But under the surface,

The tension was

_Stirring the food that you told me to make, _

_I was surprised to feel your arms snake, _

_Around my sides to hold me tight. _

_You whispered something in my ear, _

_I gave you a teasing answer, _

_And then you took your hand and whacked it, _

_Straight across me. _

_And, of course, I didn't see it_

Coming up and out of me,

I feel sick,

And tired,

And dead to the world,

Dead on my feet,

I have no more expectations left to meet.

Everything that I was to be,

Was stripped away and taken from me by your cruel hands,

And I couldn't stand

_That was the first time you hit me, _

_But not the last, _

_And I wanted to scream, _

_But a haze enveloped me. _

_Full of deranged promises, _

_While you breathe me in, _

_And your grin, _

_A smile_smirk_cheshire cat-like look, _

_Directed at _

Me and you. That revolves around and around in my head,

And then other pictures enter the frame,

One by one, taking over,

Then fading away.

Friends and family,

And they're slipping away from me,

And all I really want to do is **scream**.

Because I'm losing myself, I'm losing me.

(Time is slowing down, stopping, standing still for me,

Giving me a minute to breathe, because I can't see, can't see where I'm going.

It's just not moving, and I'm stuck and scared, and I'm not sure what I'm doing.

The days are blending and bleeding-oh they're bleeding, how odd- together, a horrible mix of what I want and need to see, filled with demons and monsters from within me.

I'm walking through a mist that covers me,

Almost protectively, lovingly,

But it's just possessively.

A shroud that stalks me,

Follows my every move,

And I can't keep track of time.

I haven't since then,

Though I can hear the clock ticking,

All through this place,

I still don't know where I am.)

My hands, my **hands**, they don't look like they're mine.

Looking at them now, is like looking straight into another time.

My arms feel heavy, as if gravity is forcing them down,

As do my eyes,

As does my head,

As does my heart.

As does my

_Everything was different before that day, _

_And after that, _

_I was stuck in a brand new world. _

_Where there are no room for mistakes, _

_But I find myself stumbling and making them anyway. _

_Like an upside down Wonderland, _

_You're Alice and I'm the Mad Hatter, _

_Throwing tea cups in a china shop, _

_Being the bull when I should be the field mouse. _

_Your fingers glided slowly over me, _

_As if cataloguing, memorizing my every dip and curve. _

_And the only word ever out of your mouth was, _

'_Mine.' _

_Plain and simple, _

_And I didn't want it, _

_But I did. _

_I didn't need it, _

_But I __**did**__. _

_You forced it on me, _

_Time and again, _

_And couldn't get_

Away from here is really where I have to go.

Anywhere.

Because I'm breaking_cracking_crumbling,

Fumbling, mumbling,

Under the pressure.

The pressure.

The squeezing. The agony.

And who's fault is this?

Find me someone to blame.

I can't move past the pain.

But I'm forcing myself onward,

Because what else can I do?

By sheer force of will,

I'm making it through, but…

I'm falling, falling.

And trying to stand, but there's no ground to stand

_On and on, and on it went. _

_A circle that had no end. _

_More memorization, _

_And those fingertips, _

_And those hands, _

_And that mouth, _

_I wanted none of it, _

_I needed it all. _

_I was crying, I think, _

_I couldn't tell after that. _

_Because if I was crying, _

_Then it was raining, _

_I don't cry, not ever, _

_Not __**ever**__, I wished. _

_I wished…on everything I ever knew, _

_To let me free, let me go. _

_So I can see the light of _

Day. Daylight. It's coming in through the window,

And I could almost smile.

But it would be odd on this stranger face of mine.

Because I don't know the look that rests in these eyes.

I know you're waiting in just the next room for me,

I can feel it,

It's making me sick.

From the inside out,

I'm being devoured, until there's nothing left of me,

My song of sorrow, stuck on

_Repeat. Repeating. Everything was coming around. _

_I thought it was safe with you, _

_Safe and sound. _

_But I wasn't. _

_And that snapped me, _

_You broke me. _

_So I broke you back. _

"_Haha, little boy. I win, I win!" _

_My smile was a teasing, lilting grin. _

_But the blood on myself seeped deep within. _

_You almost destroyed my innocence, _

_Instead you succeeded in corrupting it. _

_I left you there, waiting for me to return, _

_Knowing you would never hurt me again. _

_I turned the knob for the water, _

_First hot, _

_Then cold, _

_Scorching, then freezing in what I know. _

_Because knowledge is power, _

_And power is a cage, _

_Now I've locked myself in, and I can't get away. _

_My soul and little pieces of me were washed away down the drain, _

_Because I scrubbed myself raw and tossed it away._

_My skin almost hurt from all that I did to it._

_Looking at my hands, _

_They're almost…not_

Mine. Not yours. That's what's on my soul now.

You have no claim,

You lost our game.

Haha, little boy.

You're just a broken toy.

But you started it,

Made me hurt.

Broke me first.

But I broke you worse.

And I look up,

Crying, laughing,

Not knowing who I am, or who I was, or who I will be,

And see the mirror,

A person with no face, **blurry**,** BLURRY image**,

And I can't help but to think that's it's just so horribly appropriate.

Because

_In the fogged up mirror, _

_I am just a blurry picture, _

_And I lift my hand to wipe it away._

_The marks that are on me, _

_Are too deep for anyone to see, _

_And it's your eyes _

That haunt my dreams.


End file.
